Alexei Mordashov

Alexei Mordashov (26 September 1965-) was a Russian businessman and the chairman of the Severstal energy company. In 2016, he had a net worth of $15.7 billion, making him the richest man in Russia.

Biography
Alexei Mordashov was born in Cherepovets, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union on 26 September 1965 to a family of steel mill workers who used welfare coupons to live on butter and sausages. He graduated from the Leningrad Engineering-Economic Institute and Northumbria University, and he became finance director for Cherepovetskiy Metallugrical Plant before it was privatized in 1992. The plant's elderly director wanted him to protect the plant's assets from outsiders, so he bought up the workers' shares, formed to investment funds, and held a large stake in the factory. In 1996, he became CEO of the company, and he built the Severstal conglomerate, acquiring steel, coal, and mining companies. In 2004, he began investing in American steel companies, renovating and refurbishing the manufacturing plants in Dearborn, Michigan. His $370,000,000 loan was revoked in 2012 due to a breakdown in US-Russia relations. By 2016, however, he was the richest man in Russia, having a net worth of $15.7 billion.